Can lights and valve drills

[amascuba]

I see several issues with this as written that don't jive with what was taught in my GUE class.

One thing is step 7 - you have top stop signalling before this point as it is impossible to keep signalling while putting the back-up reg in your mouth as they both use the left hand.

In fundies we were not taught all those OK signals between each step (the ones in RED) - just the one at the end (in BLUE)
Also keep in mind that a flow check is required before you give that final OK.


Here goes a demo from you tube (not me).

You're right on step 7. Basically we stopped signaling when we had which ever post we were working on turned off.

We also gave an OK signal after each series of steps to verify that we were good to go to the next step.

The flow check is recommended, but not required for the fundamentals class.

 

[LG Diver]

The flow check is recommended, but not required for the fundamentals class.

The flow check was absolutely required in our Fundies class.

Also (this is a minor detail) we were taught to purge the backup reg down only until the reduced flow was noticeable- not all the way i.e., don't hold the purge button down until all air stops flowing. If you do this you a) run the risk of water backflowing into the hose and possibly the 1st stage, and b) you depressurize the 1st stage which creates the possibility of unseating it and having a leak at the DIN connection when you turn the left post back on.

 

[base615]

You purge it down.

I was taught never to purge a reg that isn't pressurised to ensure that water doesn't get into the 1st stage. This would seem to contradict that.

Cheers,

Craig

Edit : Covered in the post above mine.

 

[limeyx]

The flow check was absolutely required in our Fundies class.

Also (this is a minor detail) we were taught to purge the backup reg down only until the reduced flow was noticeable- not all the way i.e., don't hold the purge button down until all air stops flowing. If you do this you a) run the risk of water backflowing into the hose and possibly the 1st stage, and b) you depressurize the 1st stage which creates the possibility of unseating it and having a leak at the DIN connection when you turn the left post back on.

Flow check is 100% required.

You also (IMO) have to purge the backup down fully because this is training for a "real life" situation, when you hear bubbles off of your left side. I have never been taught otherwise.

You close the left post, but ... if the hoses are still full of gas, bubbles may continue to leak (say from the hose connecting to the d/suit or 2nd stage). If you do not purge the backup down completely, you will think bubbles are still escaping, and that you now need to isolate (or it was really a right-post failure).

So purge all the way down.

ALl the OK's are not necessary but wont really hurt.

 

[MonkSeal]

You also (IMO) have to purge the backup down fully because this is training for a "real life" situation, when you hear bubbles off of your left side. I have never been taught otherwise.

You close the left post, but ... if the hoses are still full of gas, bubbles may continue to leak (say from the hose connecting to the d/suit or 2nd stage). If you do not purge the backup down completely, you will think bubbles are still escaping, and that you now need to isolate (or it was really a right-post failure).

So purge all the way down.

Moreover, in "real life" situation if you don't purge it down, your buddy won't be able to assist you in "fixable" problems.

 

[rainman_02]

If you don't purge all the way, the bubbles will continue until all the gas is out of the reg anyway. It will just be harder to distinguish between whether you need to go to the isolator or not.

 

[limeyx]

If you don't purge all the way, the bubbles will continue until all the gas is out of the reg anyway. It will just be harder to distinguish between whether you need to go to the isolator or not.

Right. So purge it down all the way to avoid the chance of a mistake -- you really dont want to isolate un-necessarily in an overhead.

In cave1, we were "punished" if we did not purge all the way down -- the bubbles would not stop, and we'd be forced to isolate and then justify our actions in the debrief --


Getting into the habit of not purging all the way is going to be tricky to break when under stress at the next level of class.

Depending on the size of the leak and the amount of gas that could be trapped in a long hose, that could take some time to purge itself.

of course, the buddy that helps should check the reg that is shut down is already purged, but all these things are important to "get right" from the start so we reduce the chances of making a mistake.

 

[lamont]

you also need to add checking your deco bottle(s), stage(s) and argon bottle to the flow check. in fundies you won't have deco bottles or stage bottles, but you might have an argon bottle.

even down in mexico with just double-80s on i made sure that at the end of the flow check i was mentally going through "okay now check bottles, but you don't have any, now check argon bottle, but you don't have one".

 

[rjack321]

you also need to add checking your deco bottle(s), stage(s) and argon bottle to the flow check. in fundies you won't have deco bottles or stage bottles, but you might have an argon bottle.

Were argon bottles part of your Tech1 flow check? They weren't in mine, but the stage was. I feel so unschooled now

 

[lamont]

Were argon bottles part of your Tech1 flow check? They weren't in mine, but the stage was. I feel so unschooled now

yup, all valves were supposed to be verified, including argon bottle...